Off With Their Heads: Taking Their Time with New Music

By Sarah Mac

CALGARY – It was just this past summer that vocalist and guitarist Ryan Young and guitarist John Polydoros of Off With Their Heads visited Canada for an acoustic tour in support of their 2016 release Won’t Be Missed. This time around, the guys are back with the rest of the band, including bassist Robbie Swartwood and drummer Kyle Manning. They’ll be delivering the style fans fell for: that is, dark, raspy vocals accompanied by heavy, melodic punk guitar riffs and hard-hitting, pulsating drums (no acoustic guitars necessary).

Although many are looking forward to this tour, the last time we heard new music from OWTH was 2013’s Home. But, Young assures us it’s only a matter of time.

“For the first time in the history of this band, we are actually taking things at our own pace. We used to have a couple months to come out with a record in between tours.”

Young pauses, “I want to take my time to make something I actually like. I’ve never really liked any of the records we have made. Some of the songs turned out good, but I’ve never dug the actual recorded product.”

He continues, “So, it’s definitely time for us to make something interesting. We have about six songs that we have been working on, but that’s about as far into planning as we are right now. I’m getting more and more excited to focus on it though. We technically still have one [album] left with Epitaph Records and we’re on good terms with them, despite taking our time. So, I’ll be playing the record for Bret Gurewitz [Epitaph] first. If he wants to put it out, that would be awesome. If not, we have a few other options from labels. And if all else fails, I’ve got my own label. We are the cockroaches of this shit. You can’t kill us.”

With a new album in the works and OWTH’s 15th anniversary coming up in 2018, this news is exactly what we wanted to hear and the upcoming tour is a perfect way to finish off the year.

“I think being in this band today is a completely different experience than it was even five years ago. I kinda can’t wait to see what it’s like. But for now, all I know is that I want to get the new record finished and released and hit the road equipped with our new attitude and mindset.”

Don’t miss Off With Their Heads at one of their four Canadian stops: November 23 at The Cobalt (Vancouver), November 25 at The Buckingham (Edmonton),November 26 at theNite Owl(Calgary) and November 28 at the Park Theater (Winnipeg).